Dear Art Lover,
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| Pietro Nardini, long before I met him |
Last year about this time I met Pietro
Nardini on the bus from Pescia to Sorana, Italy.
He is now mid-80s and quite thin. He is no relation to the Nardini family who owns the last remaining stone quarry in this area called Valleriana, and sadly, Pietro has no family left. He still chain-smokes with no desire to slow down in that. We got into a conversation after I called my
landlord to confirm that I was on the bus and would arrive to his village in
about twenty minutes. During the call, I
handed my phone to Pietro. It turns out
that his house shares a wall with my landlord’s house. Before we got to Sorana, Pietro asked the bus
driver to stop the bus after a bend in the road. He wanted me to get off! But all was well. He had seen my landlord working with a wood
pile and did not think that I saw him.
In late July of this year, I was invited
to lunch by a friend and met a family that is new to Sorana, a village in Tuscany. By chance, they are also neighbors with
Pietro. I do not know if he remembered
me or not from the bus, but when he saw me outside, he invited me to come
inside his home to see his little private museum.
He was a climber of the Alpine
mountains! This entry room to his home,
which is upstairs, contains a good collection of minerals and gems, old photos,
and mountain climbing and spelunking [caving] gear. He started out the tour by pointing out an
image of him with a cow who has quite the funny expression on her face. He told me that this was his wife because he
was too ugly to have gotten a real woman.
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| Pietro Nardini on 30 July 2017, in his private museum, Sorana |
Pietro is missing the index finger on his
left hand. I did not ask how. In one
of the photos that I share with you here, he pointed out that he is one of the
ones dangling from a wire off the edge of a vertical cliff while the other
rescue-workers stood on the flat plane above ready to help.
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| One of those two suspended is Pietro. |
I hope that you enjoy these images. I saw Pietro again last week and during
Sorana’s annual bean festival [with dinner and dancing in the main
square!]. He said that he never eats
much and only once per day. It shows.
I am currently working out details to
offer an art workshop, perhaps focusing on anatomy and design since I will have
a male model with the class. This will
be in mid-to-late May 2018 and will be near my home in the hills of Tuscany, between Florence
and Lucca. If you are interested and want to send me
feedback on what you would like to work on to improve your art or even what you
desire to see in Tuscany,
please contact me.
Peace,
Kelly Borsheim, artist
P.S. IF original art, while
affordable, is STILL a bit out of your budget, or the piece you adored
has sold? Or do you like arty things in
different formats, to surround yourself with art? Looking for a gift? See my store online for pillow, phone cases,
shower curtains, towels, tote bags, and yes, even prints on metal, wood,
canvas, and so much more:
Happy
birthday, Jamshid!
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| Pietro shows me some of his favorite old photos of colleagues |
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| A much decorated climber and worker in the Italian Alps |
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| simpatici! |
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